00 / Adjectives & Adverbs
-ed/-ing adjectives
Adjectives ending in -ed and -ing describe feelings and the things that cause those feelings. Understanding the difference helps you avoid common errors when describing people and situations.
B1Intermediate
01 / The Difference in Meaning
Adjectives ending in -ed describe an emotion or a feeling. They tell us how a person feels about something. Adjectives ending in -ing describe the thing, person, or situation that causes the feeling.
02 / -ed vs. -ing
If you say 'I am boring', it means you are not an interesting person. If you say 'I am bored', it means you have nothing to do.
| Ending | Function | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -ed | Describes a feeling or emotion (the receiver) | I am bored. |
| -ing | Describes the cause of the feeling (the source) | The book is boring. |
03 / Common Pairs
04 / Common mistakes
I am very interesting in history.
I am very interested in history.
Use -ed to describe your own interest or feeling.
The grammar lesson was confused.
The grammar lesson was confusing.
Use -ing because the lesson is the cause of the confusion.
05 / Practice
I forgot my lines during the play. It was so ______ (embarrassed/embarrassing).
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Answer: embarrassing
Why: The situation (forgetting lines) is the cause of the feeling, so the -ing form is required.
We have been walking for five hours. We are ______ (exhausted/exhausting).
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Answer: exhausted
Why: This describes the internal feeling of the people, so the -ed form is used.
Are you ______ (interested/interesting) in joining the art club?
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Answer: interested
Why: The question asks about a person's feeling or preference, which requires the -ed adjective.